MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis in May Music Festival kicks off Friday, and scammers are possibly already out there trying to sell you fake tickets.
A new ticketing system the festival is using lets people print their tickets, and it could cause problems for some people.
Event officials are worried scammers could print multiple tickets and try selling you something that’s not worth anything more than the paper it’s printed on.
On Thursday, WREG spoke with Dimitri Pronto who says he’s worried after hearing Memphis in May is warning about scammers selling duplicates to music festival that are no good.
“I’ve printed tickets before for shows,” he said.
“In the past we had actual hard tickets, and there is that option too through ticketfly. There are multiple options, and this is one of them,” said Memphis in May representative Penelope Huston.
The festival is using a new ticketing system.
“It’s really popular right now to have printed home tickets, and we moved to that system this year.”
You can print your ticket from home or show it from a mobile device.
It’s the print capability that has people worried.
Theoretically people could print multiples and sell them off to unsuspecting music fans.
“If you buy one off the street, someone could have photocopied it. So you could be buying a duplicate ticket,” explained Huston.
That’s why Pronto said he never buys from a person or source he doesn’t know.
“You’re kind of shooting yourself in the foot if you buy a ticket from somebody and get scammed,” he said. “You have to go to someplace legitimate.”
His advice was echoed by festival organizers.
“Buy through ticketfly.com. Buy through our box office, and you’ll be safe. Come in. Have a great time.”
Organizers said they haven’t had any issues with fake tickets in the past, but want to be proactive by warning people this year.